There is a lot to admire about both Cynthia McKinney and Ralph Nadar, but Paul certainly picked the best candidate still running for office in Chuck Baldwin. It’s also kind of funny given what Bob Barr did recently that Paul decided to come out and endorse someone after all — someone besides “Bad Barr” that is. Take that Barr! Maybe the Libertarian Party will run someone decent next time.

The letter/press release from Ron Paul reads in part the following:

The Libertarian Party Candidate admonished me for “remaining neutral” in the presidential race and not stating whom I will vote for in November. It’s true; I have done exactly that due to my respect and friendship and support from both the Constitution and Libertarian Party members. I remain a lifetime member of the Libertarian Party and I’m a ten-term Republican Congressman. It is not against the law to participate in more then one political party. Chuck Baldwin has been a friend and was an active supporter in the presidential campaign.

I continue to wish the Libertarian and Constitution Parties well. The more votes they get, the better. I have attended Libertarian Party conventions frequently over the years.

In some states, one can be on the ballots of two parties, as they can in New York. This is good and attacks the monopoly control of politics by Republicans and Democrats. We need more states to permit this option. This will be a good project for the Campaign for Liberty, along with the alliance we are building to change the process.

I’ve thought about the unsolicited advice from the Libertarian Party candidate, and he has convinced me to reject my neutral stance in the November election. I’m supporting Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party candidate.

As of 11:20 AM EST not a lot of info is available on Ron Paul’s press conference and his special announcement. It seems quite clear however from the reports so far that Dr. Paul is endorsing all of the principled third party candidates — any of them. Pick the one you like best, they all have integrity which is much more than can be said for McCain or Obama. Stop throwing your vote away on the lesser of the two Republican and Democrat evils and vote for the best candidate whether you think they can win or not.

Said Paul: “The strongest message can be sent by rejecting the two-party system. This can be accomplished by voting for one of the nonestablishment, principled candidates.”

The more people that do this the less of a stranglehold the corrupt major parties will have. We here at DLR (this blog) have been endorsing all of those same third party candidates since Dr. Paul officially ended his presidential campaign months ago. It’s great to see that once again Ron Paul is getting it right. Links to third party candidates can be found in the sidebar on the lower left of this page under “Vote Third Party!”.

Ron Paul, Cynthia McKinney, Ralph Nadar and Chuck Baldwin are united on the following principles:

Foreign Policy: The Iraq War must end as quickly as possible with removal of all our soldiers from the region. We must initiate the return of our soldiers from around the world, including Korea, Japan, Europe and the entire Middle East. We must cease the war propaganda, threats of a blockade and plans for attacks on Iran, nor should we re-ignite the cold war with Russia over Georgia. We must be willing to talk to all countries and offer friendship and trade and travel to all who are willing. We must take off the table the threat of a nuclear first strike against all nations.

Privacy: We must protect the privacy and civil liberties of all persons under US jurisdiction. We must repeal or radically change the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, and the FISA legislation. We must reject the notion and practice of torture, eliminations of habeas corpus, secret tribunals, and secret prisons. We must deny immunity for corporations that spy willingly on the people for the benefit of the government. We must reject the unitary presidency, the illegal use of signing statements and excessive use of executive orders.

The National Debt: We believe that there should be no increase in the national debt. The burden of debt placed on the next generation is unjust and already threatening our economy and the value of our dollar. We must pay our bills as we go along and not unfairly place this burden on a future generation.

The Federal Reserve: We seek a thorough investigation, evaluation and audit of the Federal Reserve System and its cozy relationships with the banking, corporate, and other financial institutions. The arbitrary power to create money and credit out of thin air behind closed doors for the benefit of commercial interests must be ended. There should be no taxpayer bailouts of corporations and no corporate subsidies. Corporations should be aggressively prosecuted for their crimes and frauds. (Via the Campaign for Liberty)